The Acne Thread

[Emily_s]

pregnancy acne

Hi !
I'm 15 weeks pregnant and my skin is breaking out horribly, especialy on my forehead !
I know that there are a lot of products you can't use while pregnant (salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxyde) which makes it hard to control.
So I was wondering if any of you had any advice to give?
Thanks

 

[alex91]

I've been using Tretinoin (a brand of Retinol/Retin-A) cream for the past 3 months and it has really helped my skin. There is a transition period where your skin may break out more than usual/become flaky, but honestly now that it is clearing it is wonderful. It's also seriously helped with my blackheads.

My routine:
Morning: Benzoyl Peroxide acne wash followed by Cetaphil intense moisturiser.
Night: Cetaphil wash, dry face and wait 30 minutes, followed by 0.05 pea size amount of tretinoin cream, wait 30 minutes, apply cetaphil moisturiser.

I hope this helps anyone - I would give it a go!

 

[alex91]

I probably haven't posted in this thread in 2 years, but in 3 weeks time I have my dermatology consultation for roaccutane.

Now I appreciate this is a product that splits opinion, but I'm curious if anybody has used it before.

I'm open to trying roaccutane because at 26 years of age, every product I've had from my doctor hasn't worked for me.

Have you tried Retinol cream like Tretinoin or Retin-A?

 

[caughtulikeacold]

Hey everyone,

I know this thread is not so active but just wanted to share how I got "rid" of my acne - I had tried everything as a teen and the only thing that really helped was the ingredient SULFUR. I know salicylic acid and the others are very common ingredients in acne-fighting products, but they never worked for me. However when I tried using products with Sulfur 3-4% (or something like that), it made a huge difference. There's a zit cream called Acne Clear and cleanser called Grandpa's Acne soap, they are fantastic.

I'll be writing more about acne in depth on my blog because it was a long journey but if you've tried everything (and I really feel like I have!), then I'd really recommend looking for an acne range with the ingredient sulfur.

 

[AnaD]

I got this tip from a makeup artist: get a bar of good-quality natural soap, preferably unscented, soften it with water until it's the consistency of Plasticine and mix in 1 cup of coarse brown sugar. It makes a very good scrub that clears up serious acne and lightens bad scars. Use twice a week for three weeks and then once a week until your skin begins to clear, don't use if you have sensitive skin.

 

[Miwi]

I was prescribed this adapalene gel (a type of retinoid) for acne (it also prevents the lines/wrinkles ) by my dermatologist. This is my first prescription-only medicine. It's hard to tell now if there is any real improvement, but my skin does look slightly better. It definitely helps red marks fade away faster and no new pimples are appearing. But I try not to get all excited and I'll wait at least one month before I evaluate it.

 

[Caramel]

I've always had very dry and sensitive skin, and have never really had a problem with acne, except whenever I travel in warmer climates. Within five days or so on holiday I start breaking out on my chin, always in the same place. I can't really figure out whether it's the sunscreen causing it, the heat/sweat, the water, or most likely it's a combination of all of it? I live in a very temperate humid climate, it rarely gets extremely cold or very warm, but even when we do have hot spells I don't experience the same at home.

Does anyone have suggestions on how I can prevent these breakouts? Should I change my cleansing routine whenever I go on holiday? Exfoliate? My usual routine is very pared down with gentle products (just the Toleriane cleanser and moisturizer from La Roche Posay), and I always worry about using new products on my skin as it's so sensitive - any harsh treatments will likely just create new problems for me.

 

[squilliam]

Has anyone tried hydrocolloid acne dots or nexcare acne dressings/bandages? I found them on amazon and they have good reviews but I've never heard of anything like them before. They're apparently commonly sold in Asia mostly? I've never seen them anywhere in the US. Anybody have experience with them?

Also anyone have experience with African black soap?

 

[kissmesweet]

Hey squilliam I'm using the dots at the moment now. They're good at drying up your zits, but they're not AMAZING as it were.

 

[tarantino]

Has anyone tried hydrocolloid acne dots or nexcare acne dressings/bandages? I found them on amazon and they have good reviews but I've never heard of anything like them before. They're apparently commonly sold in Asia mostly? I've never seen them anywhere in the US. Anybody have experience with them?

Also anyone have experience with African black soap?

I used African Black Soap for a while and found it didn't help at all, it's really drying but not in the sense of drying out your acne if you know what I mean

 

[voguelover94]

I've gotten my acne sort of under control (by that I mean I the occasional spot here an there and a ghastly cyst no more than once a month *knock on wood) with the help of my doctor and a LOT of trial and error:
Yasmin - BC, Adapalene - topical retinoid, Doxycycline - broadspectrum antibiotic. I don't use any specific acne skin care, I tend to go for more 'combination skin' geared products. My mornings are typically - cleanse, tone, glycolic in Tzone, serum elsewhere, spf, eye gel, makeup. Nights are more - cleanse, scrub/mask, tone, adapalene, serum, eye gel. Through out the day I blot as needed and use Avene spray. After a workout I make sure I wash my face or at the very least use a cleaning wipe as I definitely have noticed I get sweat induced spots. Hope this helps, I know for sure that not every treatment helps every type of acne but chin up, it'll pass (even though it seems like it might not)

 

[caughtulikeacold]

Another good tip for acne: avoid dairy, and see if your skin clears up.

It did for mine, and I know for many others too, since dairy is/can cause inflammation.

 

[dumbfairy]

I've been on roaccutane for 3 months now and I have absolutely no regrets.

Has anybody been on it before? Did you find your skin stayed clear after you stopped treatment or did you find you still got some spots?

 

[fleurry13]

Cure for Hormonal Acne

Well, I've read that hormonal acne mostly can be aggravated by certain deficiencies in vitamins/minerals as the body can't fight the inflammation. I've tried Magnesium and Vitamin D3 and it seemed to help but it did not entirely got rid of the acne. Some say Vitamin A and Omega 3/ Cod liver oil which I haven't tried. How many of you guys did try and had good results? TIA

 

[kokobombon]

I´m using La Roche Posay sunscreen but it´s breaking havok on my skin. What do you guys use?

 

[Jinadaze]

BIORE UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence, it's amazing. So light and moisturizing and it absorbs immediately. It's also really cheap to order it on ebay ...

bhub

 

[fashionista-ta]

I use Origins A Perfect World SPF 25 ... also smells great.

 

[kokobombon]

^Thanks. Is it too greasy? sometimes age defense creams are too heavy for me.

 

[fashionista-ta]

It is not. I have oily skin, so I can't use anything heavy. It just has antioxidants.

 

[kokobombon]

^Oh, shoot! Origins only ships in North America and now I´m in Spain